


A Bottle of Best Brandy

by aspermoth



Category: Sherlock Holmes (2009)
Genre: Alcohol, Comment Fic, Innuendo, M/M, Seduction, Stitches, celebration
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-26
Updated: 2011-12-26
Packaged: 2017-10-28 05:15:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 577
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/304145
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aspermoth/pseuds/aspermoth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Solving this case calls for that bottle of the good stuff hiding in Holmes's stash.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Bottle of Best Brandy

Watson liked to indulge in the occasional drink. At some times, it was for the sake of polite company; at others, a stiff drink was all that kept him from strangling Holmes when the man was being particularly insufferable. But the best kind of drink, in his humble opinion, came whenever they cracked a case and Holmes went to his stash to uncover a bottle of something or other for the two of them to share. The quality of the bottle in question usually correlated with the difficulty of the case: the harder the case, the better the bottle; and this case had been particularly taxing, upon body, mind and nerve alike. It called for something of high quality.

"Good lord, Holmes, is that what I think it is?"

"That all depends, Watson, on what you think it is." Holmes lifted the bottle to pour and gave him a wry smile. "If you think that it is a bottle of best brandy laid down by the Brothers of Buckfast Abbey, vintage 1737, then you would be correct."

"And you've had that in there the entire time?"

"It called for something special."

Watson leant back in his chair and shook his head. "So it is your belief that a case in which you engage yourself in several fights, are shot at numerous times, nearly get yourself garrotted with piano wire, and receive two knife wounds, is 'special'?"

Passing Watson his drink, Holmes shrugged. "It's different."

"You are unbelievable." Watson took a sip from his glass. "How is your arm?"

"I'll live. I have a very good doctor."

Holmes settled down in a chair and took a long sip of brandy. Watson's eyes were drawn down to his left forearm where an elegant arrangement of bandages concealed the two neat lines of stitches that he had put in less than twenty-four hours ago. Holmes had tried to explain then how, exactly, the knife wounds had been necessary in solving the case, but he had fallen asleep from the effects of the morphine before he had succeeded and Watson had not had the heart to wake him. The subject had merely failed to reoccur, and Watson was not certain that it ever would unless he specifically brought it up, and the less he thought about Holmes's risk-taking and injuries, the better.

They sat there like that in silence for some time, taking it in turns to refill their glasses from the bottle, whose contents seemed to be disappearing at an alarmingly rapid pace. It was Holmes who rose to slightly unsteady feet to drain the last splash into his glass, and as he passed, Watson felt a hand run across his shoulder. He gave Holmes a Look - a capitalised sort of Look.

"Why Holmes, I do believe you're trying to seduce me."

By-passing the medium of glass in favour of swilling the remainder directly from the bottle, Holmes finished the last of the brandy and gave Watson a Look back.

"Is it working?"

Watson set his empty glass down in the first iota of clear space he could find on the cluttered surfaces and smiled. "You don't need to get me drunk in order to seduce me, Holmes. I thought you knew that by now."

"Come now, dear Watson, do you really think I'd do that? The brandy was merely the... beginning of our celebration."

Watson arched an eyebrow. "Oh? And the rest?"

The only response was a knowing smile.

**Author's Note:**

> And for anybody who caught it, yes, the bottle of brandy is indeed a reference to "Muppet Treasure Island".


End file.
